A couple years ago, I wrote a popular post titled 18 Reasons to Map Customer Journeys. I've accumulated additional reasons to map in the last two years but didn't want to just go back and add to that post. Instead, I'll call these reasons out separately.

Here are 15 more reasons, in no particular order, to map customer journeys. Use them to...

Bring the customer voice to life for the organization

Return the business to human thinking, not number (policy, account, case, etc.) thinking

Prioritize resources for improvement efforts/projects

Visualize future state

As a result, adapt to emerging and changing needs

Tool for change management - update as improvements are made

Tell the customer story

Use as a decision support tool

Optimize VoC efforts - listen where it makes the most sense to listen, identify those areas there are listening gaps

Build ownership for moments of truth and improvement areas

Drive organizational engagement and adoption - stakeholders get it and take ownership of what they learn is broken

Identify gaps in the journey, i.e., which steps are not clearly defined, causing the customer to fail at the job he's trying to do

Identify points in the journey that are outside of our control that we must, in turn, mitigate

Identify hand-offs that are being missed

Keep customers top of mind

I'll just throw in this reminder: journey mapping isn't just for the customer experience. Map the employee experience, the partner experience, and the experience of any other constituent with whom you interact, including your internal customers. If there's an experience that needs to be improved, there's a map to be made.

As we have no immediate experience of what other men feel, we can form no idea of the manner in which they are affected, but by conceiving what we ourselves should feel in the like situation. -Adam Smith

About CX Journey Inc.

CX Journey Inc. is a consulting firm specializing in laying the groundwork required to establish a CX strategy that will drive your culture transformation efforts. Our beliefs are that (1) customer understanding along the customer experience journey is key to developing a strategy that allows both customers and businesses to achieve their desired outcomes, and (2) the employee experience cannot be an afterthought.

Why CX Journey™?

You know the quote, "Success is a journey, not a destination." Well, the customer experience is a journey, too. It's a never-ending journey. Once you've designed the best experience for customers today, their needs change, their expectations evolve, customers change, etc. You'll need to think about the experience today and listen for - and anticipate - what lies ahead. You must always strive to deliver that ultimate customer experience, not only at a single touchpoint but also - especially - along the entire journey. Have you taken the first step?

"Knowing where you're going is the first step to get there." -Ken Blanchard

"It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end." - Hemingway